That's the Freaking Bouquet!
by Verdancy of the Green
Summary: Kuroko's family has been invited to his aunt's wedding! The only problem is that things are going to be a bit awkward for him there. After all, what can one expect when stress, family tensions, and happiness are all rolled up into one event like this? Naturally, Kuroko convinces Kagami to come with him!
1. Chapter 1

**This is what happens when a KuroBasu fan watches TV and sees a wedding.**

"Eh, Kuroko, you're not leaving yet? You too coach?" Kagami asked.

Kuroko shook his head.

"I will be gone for a few days, and I asked the coach if I could make up the practice time I will be absent for," he answered in his polite tone.

Kagami seemed to think something through, then pumped his fists and yelled as if to give himself a second wind. Kuroko and Aida stared.

"Fine, then I'll practice with you!"

Kuroko delicately tilted his head.

"Why?"

"Don't bother Kuroko, I was planning on having him practice with you anyway," Aida said.

"C'mon; are you serious?"

"You were about to jump in on your own anyway."

"She's right Kagami. Why are you willing to stay behind with me?"

Kagami shrugged.

"I dunno. Just a gut feeling. Like… if I don't practice with you we're gonna be out of sync or something like that."

"I see."

A whistle jolted them out of their conversation.

"Okay, stop talking and let's start training!"

Oo/oO

Hours later the two emerged from the gym exhausted.

"Gah! My legs are all burning! You alright Kuroko?"

Kuroko nodded, then stumbled before leaning heavily against Kagami.

"OW! Everything's sore! Careful!"

"I apologize."

He pushed himself back up into a standing position and crumpled to the ground.

"My legs. I do not think I can get back up."

He seemed to realize the absurdity of the situation and chuckled quietly to himself. Kagami also laughed at how pitiful Kuroko looked and soon they were both laughing hard. Aida watched from the gym doors and sighed as she turned away.

"Boys."

Kagami eventually managed to pull up Kuroko and they both trekked down the sidewalk. People gave them weird stares and Kuroko realized how ineffective his misdirection was right now. Kagami was supporting him and he attracted a lot of attention, but right now his attention was focused on Kuroko and so people noticed him as well.

"So, where are you going for the next few days?"

"It is only for two days. My aunt is getting married and I was invited with my parents."

Kuroko was silent for a bit.

"My aunt said over the phone that each of her guests could bring one friend with them; I was going to not bring anyone but…"

Kagami stopped walking.

"You want me to come with you to your aunt's wedding? No offense, but that sounds freaking awkward."

"A wedding may be very enjoyable for adults, but for children it is extremely dull. I am only asking."

A sigh, some shuffling feet, and then the quiet feel of a resigned will.

"Fine, if I'm gonna have to train with you I might as well go too."

Kuroko gave a weak smile.

"Thank you Kagami. I have not met any of my relatives in many years, so they are all strangers to me."

"Really? Do they live far away?"

"Er, that's part of the reason."

He decided not to push the question any further and again, they slowly moved along the road.

**AAAAAND that's the end of chapter one!**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK, here's chapter 2! I was thinking about the story and it took a strange turn, so here goes! **

**(P.S. FFnet is weird and won't let me put '?' and '!' together, so if something doesn't seem right, it's because of that.)**

**EDIT: People pointed out how his mom should call him Tetsuya and I freaked cuz' THEY WERE RIGHT.**

**I'm kinda lost about what to do for honorifics… I think I'll just include them when necessary.**

"Argh! When is this wedding?"

"In a week and a half. You think I would make up two days of practice in a few nights?"

Kagami groaned.

"You're really getting into this, y'know?"

"Practice helps me get my mind off some problems."

"Fine," Kagami sighed as he took a huge gulp from his water bottle and Kuroko took one last sip from his before heading into the homestretch of their practice.

oO/Oo

The next day Kagami struggled to stay awake in class as Kuroko snoozed on behind him. How did he always do that and not get caught? It wasn't fair for someone like him who got called out on the spot. He turned around and poked Kuroko in the face.

"Oi, wake up!" he whispered loudly.

Kuroko sleepily opened his eyes and then clamped down his nails into Kagami's arm.

"OWWWWWW!"

The teacher was over in a second.

"Is something wrong?" He still hadn't forgiven Kagami for the last outburst he had.

"N-nothing! I hit my elbow!"

The teacher's frown and the giggles in the room told him that nobody bought it.

"Fine. I'll let it slide this time."

As soon as the instructor was caught up in the lesson again, Kagami turned back to Kuroko.

"What was that for?"

Kuroko slept on and Kagami could see dark circles under Kuroko's eyes. Kagami gave up and faced forward again.

"At least cut your nails," he muttered.

"Get your suit," Kuroko muttered back.

Kagami sucked in a breath and resisted the urge to hurt Kuroko.

"Why did your aunt say the guests could bring one friend with them?"

"My mother is on really good terms with her sister, so I have met my aunt many times and we were involved with the wedding plans. Aunt Fumiko cares a lot about others, and this might have been her way of introducing people to each other."

"Wow, trying to hook up people at her own wedding. That's bold."

"Aunt Fumiko is strange like that."

"Huh… wait! I thought you said all your cousins were like strangers!"

"Kagami Taiga!" the teacher yelled.

Kagami slunk back into his seat, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry."

"Everyone but Aunt Fumiko," Kuroko answered.

oO/Oo

The two weeks seemed to drag on until finally they were all waiting at the station for a train to the countryside wedding.

Kuroko's mom was slim and pretty. The similarities ended there. Kuroko's dad looked even more different from him. He was fairly tall, not as much as Kagami, but still tall with handsome face that clashed with Kuroko's feminine one.

"Hey, Kuroko," Kagami said quietly, "you look nothing like your parents."

"People say that a lot."

"Tetsuya, did you sleep well last night?" Kuroko's mother asked.

"I can sleep on the train."

"I suppose so."

His father laughed.

"I'll be checking to make sure you're sleeping! You look like the walking dead!"

Kuroko smiled at the comment.

"Thank you."

Kagami stared. Lately it seemed that Kuroko was opening up more and Kagami saw him smiling more, but for just two sentences to evoke that kind of response in Kuroko was fairly surprising. He felt extremely out of place right now. He was beginning to really regret going with Kuroko to this wedding.

"You must be Kagami-kun, right? You're on the basketball team with Tetsu," Kuroko's dad said.

Kagami jumped. Oh, this guy called Kuroko "Tetsu", kinda like Aomine. He had no idea how Kuroko tolerated that.

"Oh, yeah, I am."

The man smiled sheepishly.

"Truth be told, I can't really play basketball, and we're both so busy we can never see his games," he said, "and Tetsu doesn't usually check his phone so he doesn't know about the texts we send until after the game."

_But he does, _Kagami thought. He remembered Kuroko checking his phone right when they went into the locker rooms for each game and then stashing the phone away for the rest of the game.

"Man, Tetsuya sure is amazing."

In Kagami's opinion, most parents didn't just say that about their kids. They would praise them, but amazing was a bit over the top.

Kuroko's dad must've noticed his strange expression and he laughed again. He checked to make sure that Kuroko was talking to his mom and then started talking to Kagami again.

"I guess it might sound weird, the dad actually looking up to the son, but I'm not his real father, so I can do that."

Kagami's jaw dropped.

"What?"

The loud whistle brought everyone back to attention. Kuroko and Kagami instinctively shivered at the sound. It would be years before they could hear a whistle and not think of the coach.

"Kagami."

"Jeez! Don't scare me like that!"

"Mom said she could not get tickets with all four seats next to each other, so we'll have to sit in separate pairs."

"I'll just sit with you then."

"Okay."

The parents were already heading in with their luggage.

The two of them followed with their own bags and suits.

oO/Oo

"May I have the window seat?"

"Sure."

They threw their stuff into the overhead racks and settled into the seats. This bullet train was fairly comfortable. Chatter filled the air and Kagami felt noticeably less awkward.

"How was meeting my parents?"

"I felt like I was going to throw up from the tension."

"Was it really that stressful?"

"Well, yeah! I've never met them before!"

Kagami seemed to freak out for a bit then calm down.

"Hey, Kuroko, your dad, he said he's your step-dad."

"I don't really think of him as a step-dad. He is a very kind father."

The discussion ended as Kuroko decided to go to sleep and use Kagami's shoulder as a pillow.

**AND THAT WAS A FAIL. I don't know why my writing is starting to suck so much lately. It's all awkward and badly worded, sigh… Oh, and the fact that Kuroko has a step-dad is going to play a big part in the story later on. Right now, they just want to get to the wedding. And there's a reason why Kuroko would rather sleep with Kagami around rather than alone.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, thanks everyone for filling a portion of my email with your alerts, favorites, and reviews. I appreciate them all! Let's see, I mentioned that ? and ! problem, how I will be using honorifics a bit strangely, and… Oh, I might mention condoms in a later chapter. If that's a no, please review and say so. The condoms scene is a bit… embarrassing, considering what they're there for.**

The small inn was right along the edge of the small town that was near the farm where the wedding was. It was similar to the one that they had gone to for the training camp, but it was nestled among greenery and plants compared to the beach last time. Kagami took a deep breath and realized how much cleaner the air was compared to Tokyo. If you looked towards the distance you could see mountains in shades of green and yellow.

"Your aunt, she chose a nice place."

"Everyone thought so."

The entire group piled into the place and Kagami, for once, was a bit sharper than usual.

"Wait, Kuroko, does this mean other people helping with the wedding are staying here too?"

"Yes. Though, I doubt we will interact much."

Mother and Father watched as their usually introverted son seemed to open up so much to a boy they had only just met. It was like his relationship with Aomine, but they hoped it was with different results. Kuroko had refused to tell them the details, but they knew that he had been crushed before pulling himself back together.

"Tetsu!"

Kuroko turned around and caught the keys his father threw.

"Those are for your guys' room."

"Ah, we are staying in separate rooms?"

"Yeah, it's going to be kind of awkward with the parents butting into your friendly conversations or whatever that goes on."

"What do mean by that?" Kagami said to himself.

"I understand. Kagami, can you carry the luggage? I will hold the suits."

"Huh, why!"

"I am still tired from the trip, and we will need to help Aunt Fumiko with the wedding preparations later."

"Fine fine, gimme your bag."

They ambled up the stairs and turned a corner, but Kuroko's parents could still hear Kagami complaining and Kuroko replying.

"I really hope this Kagami-kun doesn't end up like that Aomine boy," his mother commented.

-0-0-0-

Kuroko seemed to sigh, once they got into the room, and hung up the suits before collapsing into a chair.

"Kagami, are you still sore from the coach's practice?"

"Don't remind me; the pain just got worse when you said that."

They went to the bathroom, washed their faces, and relaxed a bit before they left for the farm. They drove a rented car through the streets, up a hill, and voila! They were at the farm.

"WHOA! This place is huge!"

Kuroko was also surprised at how large the farm was. There were barns, fields, and orchards all neatly separated and pleasing to see from the vantage point at the hilltop.

"TET-CHAN~!"

Kuroko's expression noticeably brightened as Kagami saw a young woman running towards them. She looked extremely similar to Kuroko's mother, being just as pretty if not more so. Her face had a happiness-filled quality to it.

"Auntie!"

Kagami stifled a laugh. "Auntie" and "Tet-chan"? What kind of pet names were those? He must've seemed too obvious because Kuroko immediately ground a heel onto Kagami's toes.

"OWWW!"

"Mm? Something the matter?" the lady asked, smiling.

"Kagami, this is my Aunt Fumiko."

Fumiko looked at Kagami surprised.

"WOW~ Tet-chan! First it's that Generation of Miracles and now this one! Is everyone on your team in Seirin also this handsome?"

Kuroko smiled, slightly blushed, and turned away.

"Stop it Auntie, you are embarrassing me in front of Kagami."

Kagami's jaw dropped. WH-WHAT WAS THIS? How could Kuroko pull off an expression like that? He flipped out his phone and snapped a picture.

"What? Kagami! Delete that!"

"No way! I need to show the others this! You're acting so weird right now!"

"C'mon Tet-chan, don't worry!"

"But…"

"She's right Kuroko, don't worry!" Kagami repeated.

Kuroko seemed to silently accept defeat, and his gaze drifted over what wedding décor he could see.

"Auntie, you seem behind in the preparations."

Fumiko groaned.

"Things have gotten stressful. You know how the family is. Most of them are stubborn jackasses."

"Sister!"

"I know, I know, but admit it, Lil' Sis; they are. They all seem to have their own ideas for how some things should go and if it weren't for their friends-which are _the _voices of logic-there would be almost nothing done. Reya and I have actually had to delay the wedding for a few days."

"Aw no! The coach! She's gonna kill us!" Kagami moaned.

"I'm so sorry. Tet-chan, you should go tell your coach and afterwards just explore the barn to get acquainted with where everything is. Be careful."

Kagami could see his friend's eyes narrow.

"Is grandpa here?"

"Yeah, but we've got some other nasties here as well. I made sure to invite the bare minimum of our family. Everyone else is either a friend or from Reya's family, and they're five stars compared to our little messed up clan."

"Thank you Auntie."

Kuroko left and Kagami followed, thoroughly confused.

"What did she mean by your family being messed up?"

"It's not that. They are just very protective people, and they do not like me."

"It's not like you hurt your mom or anything like that," Kagami said.

"Well, I have made them very angry already. They like to support the opposite of whatever I say, which included my opinion on Mother's boyfriends. I said one man was no good and they said he was amazing. He turned out to be abusive."

Kagami felt if his jaw dropped anymore times it would completely unhinge.

"Don't dump that much depressing info on me all at once! Wait, then, those bruises… That was at the beginning of the school year!"

"He just left a particularly bad goodbye note when he crashed the wedding."

"Jeez! How did you keep this all secret?"

"No one asked."

Kagami slapped his forehead.

"Why does your family hate you this much?"

"Just some circumstances involving my birth. It would be nice if you could keep a secret."

"So it was a secret!"

"Kagami," Kuroko said as he went to the CONTACTS list on his phone.

"Sorry."

Aida picked up after only three rings.

"Coach, I apologize. The wedding has been delayed."

He could hear a small giggle.

"Don't worry, you guys are fine! School has been shut down for a week and we can still use the gym!"

Kuroko ignored Kagami's flailing and decided to tackle the easier question first.

"What happened to the school?"

"Well, you know that anti-educational terrorist group that's been targeting schools nearby?"

"Yes."

"They came and somehow broke almost every window on campus and spray-painted almost everything they could! Apparently it was because Seirin is fairly new and we are a symbol of oppression by education and blah-blah. They left the gym completely untouched though!"

"Is that why you are so happy?"

"YES! One week of practice without any school worries! I'm writing up the schedule right now~!"

"What about the practice we need to make up?"

"Don't worry. I had you both do a week's worth instead of two days of extra training _just _incase of a situation like this!"

Kuroko almost dropped the phone.

"I see. Well then, I shall tell Kagami everything. Goodbye coach."

"Bye-bye!"

He snapped his phone shut and turned to Kagami.

"Bad news first then good news, right?"

"Oh god."

-o-o-o-

"You're fucking kidding me! So you've got ax-crazy relatives here and training hell in back home! What's with this kind of timing?"

"You can relax during the reception. Calm down."

"I just found out our coach almost crippled us! How can I calm down?"

"Let's take a walk around the farm then."

After a good half hour of finding where everything was, Kagami did admit he was cooling down.

This place was gorgeous. There were rows of fruit trees and different types of crops, and the whole place had some sort of rustic feel. The dinner was apparently going to be in an apple orchard. Thankfully, they hadn't met anyone particularly hostile. Most of the guests they met were very kind. Kuroko noticed more than a few of the girls eyeing Kagami.

"You seem to be popular with the girls."

"Heh, take a look at yourself! There was this one girl who kept sneaking glances at you."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I see."

"Why so surprised?"

"No one really notices me."

"Oh. My bad, I forgot."

Kuroko shook his head. Kagami noticed a small smile creep onto his face.

"No, I do not mind at all."

For some reason, seeing Kuroko this happy because of a girl slightly miffed him. This random girl could make him smile when it took the tension of a game or weeks of familiarity to get that same response otherwise.

They walked around for a bit more as the sun set. When they noticed the red sky, they ran back to the hill as fast as they could to catch the sun sinking behind the mountains.

"Oh, we didn't help your aunt with anything," Kagami realized.

"I told you, Aunt Fumiko cares about others. She knew we were tired from something. We can help her tomorrow or after dinner."

His parents came back and Fumiko set them off with a goodbye before all four of them went back to the inn.

-o-o-o-

It turned out that there weren't enough lights to do any real work after dinner. Kuroko spread out the futons as Kagami got their clothes.

"Okay, let's go! I wanna go to sleep!"

"Yes."

They carried their bundles and were half-way there when Kuroko paused abruptly.

"The key. We never locked our room."

"Don't worry, I can get it," Kagami said and ran off. Kuroko was a bit surprised, then smiled and went on to the baths.

The steam that met him as he went into the baths and talking told him others were here. He didn't expect this many people during a time like this though, judging from the loudness of the voices there were a large amount of people here. He went and scrubbed all the dirt from his body before going to soak in the baths. The people he saw in it stopped him.

"Oh, the thing's here."

"What? Why the hell did Fumiko invite it?"

"Knowing her, the bitch probably brought him here to piss us off. She never was as obedient as her younger sister."

Kuroko clenched his fists.

"Do not say that about Auntie. If my mother was invited I would need to be invited as well," he said and dodged the people that had tried to sneak up on him.

"Dammit! Slippery little runt!"

"Please, do not make a scene. There are other guests here."

Many people had already left because of the rowdy group, and now even more were leaving to avoid whatever the poor boy had coming to him.

"Shut up."

Kuroko stepped out of the way of another man and gasped as he slipped on the wet floor. He winced as he scraped some skin on the stone tiles. Pain turned to fear as his towel slipped off and people roughly pushed him into the water. They deliberately shoved him into one of the hottest potions of the bath and Kuroko struggled to move away. Strong arms gripped and forced his head underwater. His skin burned and he let out a small yell and kicked at his attackers.

"We won't ever accept you for what your father did!"

"Kuroko!"

He swallowed a mouthful of water and winced as his throat was scalded.

"Ka-Kagami!"

Just as he took a breath he was pushed down again. They were actually trying to water-log him! Frantically, he dug his nails into soft flesh and noticed with some satisfaction the grunts of pain. His eyes blurred and stung with bath water and tears and in the corner of his vision he could see that shock of red hair moving closer. More pain as a hand gripped his scalp and pulled his head up by the hair. He sucked in as much air as he could and coughed out water.

"That guy, he's your friend, right? Why don't we tell him why we hate you so much?"

Those words chilled him to his core despite the heat.

"NO! Kag-ack!"

He could say no more as he was pushed underwater again. Grimly, he noticed someone approach Kagami and he screamed as loud as he could despite his mouth and throat filling with water.

**Well, that was one of the most retarded plot twists I have ever done. I think I just killed the fic. I also think I just made it clichéd and messed up or badly written now. Shoot.**


	4. Nightlight

**Argh… so much stuff going on…**

All he wanted was a bath. What he got was Kuroko getting drowned. What the hell happened?

"Kuroko!"

Kuroko struggled to get away, but they were ganging up on him. Was this… his family? How could they do this to their own relative?

"NO! Kaga-ack!"

He tried to get closer, but a guy who looked older than him stepped in front.

"Get out of my way!"

"Are you really going to go help that thing?" he asked, pointing a thumb back at the small crowd.

"Kuroko's not a thing! Who do you think you are?"

"Humph, you can call me Takaya- _sama._"

"Like hell I will! Are you trying to get hurt!"

The Takaya sighed. Tetsuya really liked choosing stupid people, didn't he?

"Are you gonna move or not?"

"Kagami! J-just leave! I'll be fi-ah!" Kuroko spluttered as he struggled to stay above water and conscious.

"I am not going to leave you! That's stupid!"

There was almost no one else left in the baths anymore except for them. Many guests had gone to report the disturbance and the assault on Kuroko.

Takaya took a step closer.

"Do you even know _why _we're doing this?"

"Don't know don't care!" Kagami shouted and shot past Takaya as if he was trying to guard Kagami.

To his surprise he tripped over Takaya's outstretched foot and hit the tiles hard. Takaya leaned down and looked at Kagami with cold contempt.

"His father raped his mother and ran. Kuroko's nothing but a painful reminder. Do you have any idea how much his mother must suffer every single day? She sees his face and is reminded of that horrible experience," he muttered, his eyes glistening with rage.

"NO ONE deserves that kind of emotional pain. My father told me all about the bastard child his sister had, and that's when I decided that we as a family were going to make sure that that _thing's _life was hell on earth when we were around. Anybody who associates with it is trash in my eyes."

Kagami stared wide-eyed in shock. His gaze flitted back and forth from Takaya to Kuroko. The only possible explanation for their behavior was that everything that Takaya had said was true. That meant that Kuroko's real dad was some criminal still on the loose? He grit his teeth, and then swung his fist straight into Takaya's face. He could feel teeth cut his knuckle and he hoped to the high heavens that the douchbag had at least a black eye or crooked nose.

"SHUT UP! IT'S NOT HIS FAULT HE WAS BORN! YOU'RE JUST SOME JERK THAT WANTS TO BE A HERO! GO TO HELL!"

Kuroko watched silently as Takaya flew back and the people holding him down also unhanded him to go rush at Kagami. He moved towards the edge of the baths, but the heat and panic finally got to him. He passed out.

-o-o-o-

When he woke up, he was on a futon and dressed in the clothes he planned to change into. He also noticed how cold he felt and his damp hair soaking his collar and pillow.

"Feeling better?"

He got up and a hand instinctively went to his thigh that had been scraped on the tiles. He faced the right and saw Kagami sitting in a chair, looking worried. He nodded.

"Yes, what did Takaya-san tell you?"

Kagami seemed loathe speaking to him, and then sighed.

"Everything."

Kuroko didn't even blink.

"Your life is shit."

"I know. My clothes, how did you…"

His friend groaned, then began to fidget and blush.

"I carried you up here first, then I ran back to get your stuff. By then, there were actually some police here, so I just ran into the changing rooms and grabbed our stuff."

"So you ran from here, to there, to back here," Kuroko said.

"Yes," Kagami mumbled.

"Naked."

"Yeah."

"Oh, I am sorry."

"Why're you apologizing?" Kagami asked, "They sounded like they were going to lynch you."

Kuroko went pale.

"Whoa! Is something wrong? Did I say something?"

Kuroko was silent for a few seconds. Then, he spoke.

"Kagami," he whispered, "I feel sick."

The boy bolted across the room and shoved the wastebasket into Kuroko's arms.

"I won't look!"

Even with his back turned, Kagami could still hear everything. He heard Kuroko cough, and then heard a splash, like water, followed by something considerably more substantial, like dinner. Kagami started feeling a bit himself and kept his back turned even as he heard Kuroko get up to put the wastebasket back in the corner.

"I apologize," Kuroko said hoarsely.

"Never mind, are you hurt?"

He shook his head again before grabbing Kagami's hand.

"The knuckles are cut. How will you play basketball properly if your hand hurts? We should clean and disinfect it."

Kagami jerked his hand away.

"O-okay! Besides, there was some blood on my hands when I carried you back here. You hurt your leg, right?"

"If you knew, why ask?"

Kagami was getting stressed and confused. He had come here expecting a wedding and ended getting caught up in a family bloodbath. He knew too much about Kuroko. This was stuff you only told people involved and people you trusted. There may be mutual trust between them in basketball, but as friends, Kagami didn't feel like he was even close to being allowed to hear this kind of stuff. He stood up emphatically. When Kuroko looked at him, he avoided the gaze of those blue eyes.

"I'm going to go get a first-aid kit!" he yelled angrily and left the room. Kuroko jumped as the door slammed shut. Deep in his chest, he could feel cold tendrils of fear strangle his heart. Was Kagami going to end their friendship? Kuroko, in that moment felt unbearably lonely. He dropped to the ground and pulled his knees to his chest. Against his will, tears began to drip down his face. He shouldn't have come.

No, he shouldn't have been so selfish as to ask Kagami to come along. He thought Kagami could protect him. The past few days had been filled with sleepless nights. He could sense his body breaking down as his mind seemed to slip deeper into some sort of dark pit. When Kagami was around though, he could sleep.

It was like having a night-light. When it was dark, the light let you see reality and protected you, even if it was a superficial kind of protection. That was what Kagami had been, and he was stupid enough not to have noticed. He bit his fist to keep himself from crying out in despair.

He had just wanted to be selfish-just this once!- and it had backfired so horribly. He wanted to be supported for once instead of being a support.

"Kuroko Tetsuya," he said to himself, "you are a Shadow." He steeled his resolve and sighed.

A loud knock on the door snapped him out of his musings. He got up and wiped his face. He hoped his eyes weren't that red.

"Yes?" he asked as he opened the door. To his surprise, an officer in uniform stared back at him.

"Is something the matter Sir?"

"Ah, yeah. My buddy is downstairs taking care of the commotion at the baths. The guests were reporting something about a boy being assaulted while a guy down there with his hair bleached is saying that you, his cousin made a friend punch him in the face."

"Really, he's saying that? How does his face look?"

The officer sighed. This kid had one of the best poker faces he'd ever seen. If he ever tried gambling…

"Weeelll, it looks like his cheek is swollen and the inside of his mouth is cut. He'll have a nasty bruise there for maybe a week. Could I speak to your friend?"

"I must apologize. He is going to get a first-aid kit right now."

"First-aid? Are you hurt?"

"We both are. Takaya-san tripped my friend and I also slipped in the baths. There was some blood."

The police man scratched his head.

"I see. Did your friend assault your cousin?"

"I passed out in the baths before I noticed. The heat got to me."

"Oh, that's horrible. You don't mind if I wait for your friend to come back?"

Kuroko shook his head.

"Um, the boy whom the guests say was assaulted; no one really noticed him or paid much attention. Do you know who he was?"

Kuroko shook his head again. He was shaking his head a lot nowadays.

"I have no idea."

The officer narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I guess your friend must be taking some time getting that kit. You never told your friend to hit your cousin, did you?"

"No sir."

"I'll take your word for it then. The only person claiming he was assaulted is your cousin, and there is no other proof except for that bruise on his face. I'll be taking my leave then. Tell your friend not to get into any trouble."

"Yes sir."

Kuroko shut the door as the officer walked away. To the officer, it seemed almost obvious that the boy that was assaulted by that cousin and his group of relatives was that boy, Kuroko Tetsuya. He was lying. The friend must've noticed and punched the guy in order to save Kuroko. Try as he might, he couldn't bring himself to arrest a kid for rescuing his friend. He'd let it slide this time. If Kuroko wouldn't admit to the assault, then he probably wouldn't be able to arrest the cousin as well.

To his extreme dissatisfaction, he could feel himself getting guilty. He couldn't protect one kid. He was probably leaving this kid's life now for forever.

And there was nothing he could do.

Just then, a boy taller than him by about a head rushed past. He carried a first-aid box in his hands and rushed into the room he'd just been in.

"Sorry I took so long! The manager was all freaked out about something about your cousins. They're only getting away with a warning, can you believe that! After what they-"

The loud boy's voice was cut off almost immediately. Damn, that blue-eyed kid was sharp. Well, at least he had a hot-blooded and formidable looking friend to back him up.

The officer chuckled as he went along his way.

Maybe all hope wasn't lost yet for Kuroko Tetsuya.

**WHEW! This chapter was kinda hard to write!**


	5. Serendipity

**Episode 15 was just… sad. The anime seems to be speeding up the storyline a bit. Oh well, in my own little opinion it seems to do a nice job with the condensing. I just hope there aren't any drastic changes.**

**Edit: OH crap! Discrepancies, discrepancies! I seriously have never been this scatter-brained before… Of course, Auntie~!**

Despite Kagami's loud entrance, after the dust had settled they both turned silent again. Kuroko disinfected the scrape on his leg and put a bandage on it. Kagami's hand was a bit more complicated. He had cleaned the cuts and now needed to tape up the injured fingers. He wasn't used to taping up his own fingers. As he slowly wrapped the bandage around the knuckles, his blood pressure rose by a few numbers as he wondered how a certain Midorima managed this _every single freaking day_.

"Kagami, let me do it. Hold your hand still."

Kuroko scooted over by Kagami and took the tape from Kagami. It was almost hypnotizing, watching the tape wind and twist over and over around his fingers.

"Kuroko."

"Yes?"

"Your mom, why did she…"

"Are you asking why I am even here in the first place?"

"NO! I-I mean, your mom could've have given you away or-"

"My mother, contrary to how she looks, is quite sensible. Do you want to hear everything?"

Kagami's hand twitched and he looked away.

"Nevermind. I should shut up."

He shouldn't pry too much. It was unreasonable asking Kuroko about a touchy subject like this. It was also amazing how fast this whole thing had gone downhill. They were teammates. That was it.

"Kagami, it's done."

Kagami looked at his fingers and flexed them experimentally. The bandages were snug and stayed in place, but they didn't restrict his movements either. It looked almost like something the coach had done herself.

"This is good," he said, surprised.

"I have some experience."

Kagami blinked.

"Like how?"

"Small accidents. People do not notice me until it is too late. Things like that."

"I could get clipped by a bike or small things like that."

"'Clipped by a bike'? Won't that leave a deep cut or something?"

"Most people tend to exaggerate bike accidents."

Kagami sighed.

"You seriously need to be more careful."

"I know. Kagami, may I ask you something?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Now that you know about my father, what will you do?"

Kagami felt like he had been struck dead for a few seconds. That was just like Kuroko to blatantly fire off such a scary question to answer. He reached out with his bandaged hand and roughly grabbed Kuroko's head, ruffling the hair.

"Are you stupid? I'm gonna keep on playing basketball with you! I'm your Light," he said brusquely, "and I'm not going to leave you over something stupid like this."

Kuroko smiled peacefully and reached up to pull Kagami's hand off his head.

"I like that answer," he replied. It was a good thing to say.

Kagami saw Kuroko's smile and the first thing he thought was that it looked like the smile of someone who was usually in a coffin. That was either a very good sign, or a very bad one.

"Kagami, we are… friends, right?"

"What do you mean?"

Kuroko flopped back onto the futon.

"I think that we are friends. Am I right or wrong?"

Kagami scratched his head.

"I- I dunno. We only play basketball together. Other than that, we don't do much."

"I trust Kagami… most of the time."

"HEY!"

"Does Kagami trust me?"

"Yes!"

"If you were in trouble would you trust me to get you out of that situation?"

"Yes!"

"I was in trouble and you got me out of that situation, correct?"

"Yes!"

"I am your Shadow and partner, right?"

"Yes!"

"You want to keep on playing basketball with me, correct?"

"Yes!"

"Did we suffer together through training camp?"

"Definitely…"

"Did I promise to make you number one in Japan?"

"Yes! What's with the questions?"

He still didn't think they were friends after all of this?

Kagami noticed the somewhat disappointed expression.

"Did I say something?"

"No."

_Aw crap, I said something, _Kagami thought uneasily. This was bad. He had no idea how he'd screwed up. He was sure he had answered all those questions correctly, so why was Kuroko still pissed off at him? He was clueless.

It was probably for reasons like this that the coach called him stupid along with the other members of the team. According to them, he was also "hopelessly dense".

Those things never really bothered him except during times like these. Tatsuya himself said he was going to regret filling his head with basketball instead of subtlety one day.

"Kagami? In my opinion, I think we are friends."

Kuroko couldn't be possibly serious.

Like he said before, they only ate together and played basketball together. Sure he borrowed Kuroko's notes sometimes but lending notes hardly characterized people as friends. Friends were supposed to hang out together and do things that they both liked together. They both loved basketball, but they played as partners.

He ran different scenarios through his mind and realized that he never expected Kuroko to see him as anything but a Light. He stared dumbly at a corner of the room processing all the info his poor brain could handle. He was freaking stupid! Why did people always expect him to pick those random social cues or things like that?

Kuroko wondered if he had underestimated Kagami's stupidity. Was it really that bad that he had to say it straight to his face?

Then again, this was the person who couldn't score a decent score in English after living in America for years.

Kagami's thinking processes fizzled pathetically as his mental state went into a melt-down. That was it. He was going into a coma ASAP. His mind couldn't take all the conflict. Without thinking, he opened his mouth and spoke.

"If you think so; I don't think I'm much of a friend outside of basketball. If we're friends I'll take your word for it."

He snapped out of his daze to process exactly what he had just said. His face began trying to contort into an expression of horror, joy, and disbelief all at the same time. With his mouth all puckered up in some sort of frown and smile crushed together and his eyebrows scrunched up, he looked absolutely ridiculous.

Kuroko rolled onto his side and laughed.

"Kagami is so stupid sometimes!" he exclaimed happily. Kagami yelled and tried to grab him, but he ducked and rolled away.

"You can't just call me stupid to my face like that!" Kagami screamed and got up to chase Kuroko around the room.

"No fair! Kagami is stronger than me!"

Kagami paid no heed and sprinted around after Kuroko before pulling off a beautiful tackle and knocking the smaller boy down. He might've had a chance in football if he wasn't so devoted to basketball.

"That hurt. Kagami, get off."

"Oh, sorry about that," Kagami apologized sheepishly as he helped Kuroko up, "I lost my temper."

"You are too short tempered."

Kuroko huffed and straightened out his clothes.

"We are friends," he repeated quietly. He kept repeating the words to himself until he could feel himself beginning to cry again, this time in happiness. Why was it that after you cried once, for the rest of the day you kept feeling like you would burst into tears at any moment?

"I guess, then, you can tell me about what your mom did."

Kuroko kicked him in the shin.

"Do not ask me a question like that all of a sudden."

"W-What the hell? You were going to tell me before weren't you!"

"I changed my mind."

"Hey! Tell me!"

"So you _were_ curious."

"Dammit Kuroko!"

Kuroko pretended to rub his eyes as if from sleepiness and laid down on the futon again. The rooms were warm from the summer heat and he didn't feel like crawling under the blankets.

"Wait, are you gonna tell me or not?"

"I am waiting for you to also sit down."

Kagami sighed and sat down on the futon besides Kuroko.

"So, start."

"Like I said before, my mother is a very sensible person. Or perhaps too kind for her own good. Either way, she stoutly believed that it was not my fault that I had been conceived. It was the man who raped her that was responsible. To abort me would be a pointless punishment that would not even get her justice. She was about to graduate from college and was fairly certain that she could raise me. I was even going to be born after graduation. The problem was that my grandparents were determined to have me gone. They did not want the social stigma of an illegitimate child."

"Lemme guess; they hate you. What does stigma mean anyway?"

"They hate me a lot, and a stigma is a sign of disgrace I believe. My mother anyway pretended to get an abortion and by the time they found out I was too far along to get offed without some serious controversy."

"But your grandparents could've forced her to give you away."

"I am about to get there. Right after I was born, she retracted the decision to give me away. Her child, her decision. Grandpa and Grandma were this close to disowning her. Aunt Fumiko actually blackmailed them though. She said if they disowned Mother she would spread the word that her parents had cruelly disowned their daughter for being raped."

Kagami couldn't believe how crazy Kuroko's mom was. His Aunt Fumiko had a sort of craziness to her that you could kind of feel, but his mom's crazy was hidden and flat out insane.

That brought something else into question. Where was Kuroko's little bit of insanity? The answer came to him almost immediately and he felt like hitting himself in the head. In basketball of course.

"Your family is not normal."

"I am normal."

"You seriously can't mean that."

Kuroko sat up and rested his back comfortably on Kagami's side. Kagami, in response, shifted a bit to even up the extra weight. It was funny sometimes how short Kuroko was compared to other players. He was only about as tall as a girl his age. Maybe he'd go through some kind of last minute growth spurt if he was lucky.

"I have been worried about this wedding for the past two weeks. I was not been able to sleep properly," he began.

"WHAT? That's why you kept sleeping in class you…"

"But, when Kagami is around, I can sleep, because I trust him to keep me safe and stand up for me. I believe and doubt this at the same time. I wonder if you can understand that."

Kagami was at a loss for words. Was he seriously only Kuroko's second friend or something? The amount of trust-no _faith_ that Kuroko had in him was exorbitant. These matters were things that went beyond the court, and they both already had a good portion of probably their _souls_ invested in basketball. Besides, how could Kuroko both doubt and believe in him at the same time? That was too strange.

"Don't say such embarrassing things!"

His vehement remark fell on deaf ears. Kuroko was fast asleep and already lightly snoring.

This was a problem. He really wanted to get up or lay down on his own futon, but Kuroko was leaning on him. To wake him up would be too cruel as well. That meant that he'd probably have to wait until Kuroko was in a deep enough sleep to be moved.

How was he going to go to the bathroom?

**I got completely stuck at the middle of the fic. So now Kagami has a spontaneous breakthrough instead of a slow one. I'm kind of annoyed about that. It's just too unnatural. Well, this is Kagami, so let's assume it's possible for him. He's also way a bit too perceptive during this chapter. Ah I hate OOC.**

**Sorry this chap took a while.**


	6. Halos, Anyone?

**Hehe, your reviews make my day! **

**No! **

**Must… not… be complacent…. Need to… keep up the qualityyyy…. And I think the condoms are gonna appear. If they don't, my bad, I can't really control what I write**.

Kuroko yawned quietly as the sunlight streamed in and blinded him. He had been so stupid to forget to close the window yesterday.

Then again, yesterday he and Kagami both did some pretty stupid things. There was a stifling warm blanket draped over him and he tried to roll away from the heat source. He realized something was up when the blanket was too heavy to roll away from. Wearily, he opened his eyes and kicked Kagami off with some effort. It was his fault for falling asleep onto Kagami anyway.

Kagami hit the futon and also woke up, albeit slowly and painfully.

"Kuroko?" he muttered, "What th' hell was that for?"

"We need to wake up and go help Auntie with the wedding."

Kagami groaned and crawled up. As he stretched, he could hear his back crack loudly. As they dressed and washed, Kagami noticed with some annoyance the shower in the room.

"Why didn't you use this last night?"

"I wanted to relax a bit. I did not think they would be bold enough to attack me in public," Kuroko answered.

Kagami bristled at Kuroko's blank tone. He wasn't the one that had to play the hero and get him out of that mess yesterday.

_In my opinion, I think we are friends._

Well, that also happened last night. Kagami looked over at Kuroko with that ridiculous bed-head and then sighed.

"Don't move," he said gruffly.

He walked over and began more or less clawing at the knots and cowlicks in Kuroko's hair. Kuroko yelped every once in a while, but let Kagami smooth down his hair.

"Jeez, your hair's longer than mine, so why does it stick up like this?"

"It just does that. My mother says it might be genetic, since no one else in the family has hair this messy."

Crap. Why did he always bring up stuff like this by accident? It was way too early in the morning to go over something like this.

"Your face must look quite stupid right now."

Kagami promptly ground a fist into Kuroko's skull. He shouldn't have been worried at all.

"Ow. Kagami, stop that."

He stopped and a loud growl from his stomach told Kuroko that his Light was hungry.

"Let's meet my parents downstairs."

"Got it, got it."

As they laced up their shoes, Kagami felt that after this trip, he's have this sort of permanent aversion to using the word "family" around Kuroko. How did Kuroko stand all this sort of hatred and violence from his family? He couldn't believe all this was happening while he was in middle school as well.

Hating basketball, losing Aomine, resigning from the basketball team, his mom having an abusive boyfriend- life must've been hell on earth for him during those years.

"What are you thinking about, Kagami?" Kuroko asked as they tromped down the stairs.

"Huh?"

"Never mind," Kuroko said.

He turned away with a little smile. Kagami was like an open book. Having a friend and a team that cared about you was nice. The coach was evil, but it was obvious that the team was her life.

High school felt like Heaven compared to middle school.

They turned into the dining area and Kagami's expression immediately went sour.

"Kagami, it is impolite to look so blatantly disgusted."

"C'mon, can you blame me?"

Takaya and a handful of other older relatives glared at Kuroko and Kagami from a single table. There were even some kids (mostly little boys trying to be "cool") sticking their tongues out at the two.

"Tet-chan~! Over here!"

In the corner were his parents, Aunt Fumiko, and even Reya-san. He tugged on Kagami's sleeve.

"Let's go," he muttered, pulling Kagami away. Knowing Kagami, it wouldn't be long before someone provoked him into a brawl.

As they went past The Table of Hostility and Awkwardness, a particularly nasty little boy jabbed Kuroko in the ribs.

"Get away! Takaya-sama doesn't want to be near the trash!"

Kuroko kicked a heel into Kagami's shin and leaned forward to stare at the boy with a strange look of blankness and wonder.

"Takaya-san, how did you get the children to call you with a 'sama'?"

"Call him Takaya-sama!" the boy shouted. Kagami decided enough was enough and pulled back Kuroko. His leg was still smarting from that earlier blow.

"Kagami, please do not hit a child."

"Do you really trust me that little?!"

"You have my full trust in basketball. Other matters are due some more concern."

"Whatever! Hey, kid?"

Bravely, the boy stared straight back into Kagami's eyes. Kagami made an utterance of approval and ruffled the boy's head, to the boy's surprise.

"You've got guts, kid! You could probably do way better in basketball than hanging out with this jerk you know?"

The boy gaped as Kagami marched off with Kuroko.

"You actually handled that with some tact," Kuroko said.

Kagami looked at Kuroko, annoyed.

"I thought he'd be some mindless little kid, hanging around an older sibling to act cool, but he doesn't smell that weak. He seriously believes whatever crap you cousin told him."

They went to the line to get their food and then sat down at Fumiko's table.

"Sorry about that," Fumiko said apologetically.

Kuroko shook his head.

"It's nothing, Auntie."

"How'd you sleep last night?" Kuroko's father said heartily, slinging an arm around Kuroko's shoulders.

"I slept well. Kagami snores though."

"Hey!"

"Tetsuya, why is Kagami-kun hurt?"

Kagami gulped. Like mother, like son. She was also super observant it seemed.

"He slipped in the baths. Kagami's actually quite clumsy."

Kagami exhaled and touched his bandaged fingers.

"By the way, Kuroko, you haven't really met Reya it seems!"

Fumiko's fiancé smiled shyly and shook hands with Kuroko.

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well."

Reya fidgeted a bit and started the conversation when Kuroko said nothing.

"Ah, Kuroko-kun, Fumiko's said a lot about you. Well, she also said a lot about her family. I didn't think they'd be this scary though."

"As long as you treat Auntie well, you should be fine."

"I know. You play basketball, right? What position?"

"I am… it is hard to explain. Kagami is our team ace though," he said, deftly changing the subject.

Reya turned to Kagami.

"Really? That's quite admirable," Reya said.

"Does Reya-san also play basketball?"

"Ah, no way," he said with a laugh, "I'm way too weak for sports. I do know a little here and there though. Apparently that Takaya person over there plays basketball."

That was some new information.

"Er, well, I'm going to be your uncle-in-law soon. I'm not sure if I'm prepared for that! From what Fumiko has told me, you seem like a wonderful child. I really want to be a good uncle!"

"You should focus on being a good father first."

"That's right; sorry about that."

"It is fine."

Kagami glanced at Kuroko and noticed that Kuroko seemed less tense. It was hard to explain how he knew, but the team had picked up a general feeling after a while on Kuroko's moods.

Right now, Kuroko gave off the feeling of being 'more relaxed', compared to his usual mood. For some reason, Kagami also felt good about talking to Reya. There was something about him that calmed people down. He was pleasant company in general. Kagami scowled as Takaya leaned back on his seat, gesturing for Reya to come over.

"Oh, I should probably introduce myself to the others, huh. Sorry Fumiko, gotta be polite," he said and gave Fumiko a quick peck on the lips before leaving the table.

Fumiko sighed happily as Reya walked away.

"So, Kuroko, what do you think?"

"You are very lucky Auntie. I am surprised no one else took him."

"That's good! If you said he sucked, I would've called off the wedding no matter how painful it might've been!"

Kagami stared at the two of them in shock.

"Whoa, Kuroko, what's going on here?!"

"Quiet down, Kagami."

"C'mon Tet-chan, anybody would be surprised to hear that!"

She leaned over and gave Kuroko a sloppy hug, much to her younger sister's disapproval.

"Sister, you really shouldn't rely on Kuroko that much."

"What? But Lil' Sis, he's amazing at this kind of stuff!"

"I know, I know. I wonder sometimes why Kuroko has that kind of talent instead of me," she said, defeated. She glanced at her husband who smiled back.

Kagami was at a loss. Kuroko was actually blushing in embarrassment at the indirect praise from his family, or whatever they were talking about.

"Please Auntie; I really do not want to explain this to Kagami."

"Don't worry Tet-chan, I'll explain for you."

She looked at Kagami, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"You see, Kagami-kun, Tet-chan is an amazing bullshit and jerk detector. If you show him a jerk or if someone is lying, ninety-nine percent of the time he can tell. You should've seen my little sister's boyfriends; most of them lasted a few months at most!"

Kagami slowly turned to face Kuroko, who was understandably embarrassed.

"That's… kinda creepy."

Kuroko's expression turned blank again and he pinched Kagami's arm.

"Ow! What did I say?!"

"I am glad Kagami is so dense."

Kagami growled and began shoveling down his food. Kuroko ignored Kagami and began eating as well.

Fumiko and the others stared as Kagami's plates began to pile up. Kuroko meanwhile was still nursing his first plate.

"Kagami-kun, you eat a lot," Fumiko commented quietly.

"Hm? Oh, I'm just usually hungry."

She laughed nervously.

"W-well, try to not to eat out my wedding!"

Kuroko tapped Kagami's shoulder.

"I do not think Auntie is lying."

"I can't eat _that _much!"

After a while, the whole group piled into an array of mismatched cars and drove back to the farm. The drive was mostly uneventful, and Kuroko took the chance to just relax. Breakfast had set his nerves on the edge, and he wanted to unwind.

"Okay, while we're in the car, let's plan," Fumiko said.

Kuroko nodded while Kagami jumped with surprise and noisily voiced his assent.

"Tet-chan, Kagami-kun; I want you two to set up the candles and prepare the wedding favors."

Reya gave his girlfriend a worried look.

"Are you sure?"

"They both look pretty strong."

"I'm not talking about the candles, I'm-"

"Don't worry Reya!"

"Auntie?"

"Oi, Kuroko, what's your aunt talking about?"

Fumiko kept her eyes on the road and continued giving instructions.

"For the wedding favors, just spread them all over the dining table. Do it evenly though. The candles are going to be strung over the table using the trees, so be careful not to knock down any un-ripe apples, okay? The owner says he doesn't want to lose any of the fruit."

"Auntie, you said you saw a nice, plain, grassy area that was very big. Why not use that place to eat?"

"We've got something planned there, right Reya?"

"It's going to blow your mind. There's only a few though," he said with some disappointment.

"Hey, they said any more and it could be dangerous."

"I know."

He sounded almost like he was whining. Kuroko shot Kagami an uncharacteristically worried glance.

"Will we have a ladder for the candles?"

"Oh, yeah, check the barn for one. The owner says there's also a really long one for trimming tall trees."

Kuroko looked out the window again tried to take his mind off any lingering doubts. He tried counting trees or played the usual games that people without books or games did on car rides. They soon pulled up onto the farm grounds and everyone scattered to their designated areas. The apple orchard took a good five minutes to walk to, while gravel and dust from uneven roads clouded their vision and dirtied their shoes.

There weren't any plates or cutlery set on the tables yet, and there were plastic covers draped over all everything. They went from table to table, pulling off the covers. When they were done, Kuroko gazed almost absentmindedly at the dining décor. Even without plates and knives, or flowers, what was already there was charming and showed good taste. The tablecloths were white with an uneven and raised pink flower trim. There was matching cloth on the chairs and fake cherry blossom petals and flowers scattered over the tabletops. A big white bow adorned the back of each chair. The legs of the tables and chairs were matching, with elegantly scrolled ends that resembled seashells propping up the furniture.

Kuroko wondered why his aunt didn't just spread the flowers until right before the wedding, but he dropped the petty issue. He picked up one of the champagne pink candles in frosted glass holders and began trying to make out various objects through the translucent material. The glass had small flowers cut into it, and there were more tiny flowers visible in the clear parts of the layered candles.

"Kuroko, stop daydreaming! Help me out!"

"Yes," he replied, and put the candle back. He hurried over to Kagami who was trying to open the taped cardboard boxes.

"I can't get it off dammit!"

Kuroko scanned the ground for a sharp stone and found one in under a minute.

"Get out of the way."

Kagami backed off, and Kuroko cut the tape with the rock.

"Finally!"

Kagami went back over and opened the box. To Kuroko's amusement, he screeched and jumped away.

"W-what the hell?!"

Curious, Kuroko also peeked in the box.

"It's just candy," he called towards Kagami, "see, it says 'green-tea flavored'…" his voice trailed off.

He promptly dropped the thing and instead picked up the note inside the box.

"To whomever that sets these up: we don't want the kids to know about these, so hide them under the seat covers. Sincerely, the Bride to Be."

Silently, Kuroko ripped the paper into the shreds and dropped them onto the ground.

"This is going too far Auntie," Kuroko said to himself darkly.

Kagami, now mostly recovered, slowly inched up to the box again.

"Should we, get started then?"

Kuroko nodded. The two of them each grabbed a handful and with uneasy faces slipped one under the seat cover of a chair.

"Kuroko, these are-"

"Do not say it."

"These are-"

"Do not say it."

"These are-"

"No."

"THESE ARE CONDOMS!"

"Don't shout that out!" Kuroko screeched, his formal speech slipping for a moment.

"What the hell is wrong with your aunt?!"

"Auntie just has these quirks, but this is extreme even for her!"

"…Why did you think it was candy?"

Kuroko froze.

"I have only seen a condom once, and I have bad memories associated with the event."

Kagami, puzzled, with a twinge of worry looked at Kuroko.

"What the hell happened?"

Kuroko began to work faster, some irritation becoming visible on his face.

"It was in middle school. Aomine got a condom somehow and stuck it in my school uniform collar during the beginning of class. I walked around the whole day with that visible and I did not notice until Haizaki pointed it out as we were changing! He asked me if I had a girl and I did not even know what that thing was!"

Kagami burst out in laughter. He couldn't help it. Kuroko was actually worried about stuff like that? No one would've noticed it if they didn't notice him! Kuroko ran to the box and began pelting Kagami with handfuls of condoms.

"Shut up!" he shouted, his face turning red. His polite speech and calm demeanor had slipped again.

Kagami kept on laughing and held up his arms to ward off the barrage of condoms.

"No one would've noticed anyway!"

That seemed to make Kuroko even angrier.

"I thought so as well, but it turns out it brought attention to me! I found letters with… requests from female students and even some male students as well!"

"Damn! Aomine really got to you!"

"He apologized afterwards."

Kuroko stopped throwing stuff and went back to work. Aomine had actually apologized sincerely to him and promised he wouldn't do a trick like that ever again. He liked being in the background. It felt very safe and reassuring to be a bystander, and Aomine had so carelessly and effortlessly breached that wall.

Kagami was surprised at how quickly Kuroko's attitude had become clam and serene again. He was surprised at what he had heard. He always thought that Kuroko might've hated his lack of presence, but it seemed that he enjoyed it very much instead.

Soon, the box was empty and they had a condom under every seat cover. Kagami went over to the second, larger box and stared at it cautiously. Slowly, he cut the tape, then flipped up the cardboard flaps and averted his eyes. Kuroko peeked in and picked up one of the satiny bags inside.

"Cute," he murmured, as he opened the pouch to find a hairpin shaped like a tiny brown tree branch with little cherry blossoms of pink and yellow lacquer dotting the miniscule twigs. Kagami looked at it as well and somehow pieced two-and-two together.

"So, condoms for guys, hair things for girls, and what's for the kids?"

"Let's just put these out first."

This time they could actually follow Fumiko's instructions and scattered the bags evenly over the tables.

"Look here."

Kuroko turned his head just in time to have Kagami pin back a blue lock of his hair with the pin. Kagami took one look and burst into laughter for the second time in an hour and a half.

"You look like a girl!" he snorted. Kuroko pulled the pin out of his hair and frowned.

"Now that it's been in my hair, should we still put it out?"

"No one will care!"

Kuroko sighed and put it back into a bag and onto a table. The hair pins went by a lot faster. Then came the biggest box. It was full of small plastic containers full of bubble solution and wands attached to the lids. They spread them all out and were finally done.

The candles were something that Kuroko had not been looking forward to.

"We should put up the lines first and then clip on the candles."

"Good idea. I'll go get a ladder."

"Actually, get two. It will be faster to work separately."

"Got it."

Kuroko sat in one of the fancy chairs and waited as Kagami went. Briefly, he wondered if he should go help, but he decided to just wait in the end. The cut on his thigh itched, but he refrained from scratching it. He didn't want it to get infected. After a while, he looked up to see Kagami returning with two small ladders, each slung over a shoulder. Kuroko got up and ran over.

"Are you tired?"

"Yes," he gasped, dropping them roughly onto the ground. Kuroko wore an expression that annoyed Kagami for some reason. It was oddly… patronizing.

"You are stupid," Kuroko said, "You could have brought them each one by one."

"Well, we need to hurry, right? I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to or the coach will kill us!"

Kuroko sighed. A few minutes weren't going to have that big of an impact. Nevertheless, they set up the ladders and started stringing pieces of twine among the branches. The apples were still green, so Kuroko tried his best to avoid them like Fumiko said. Kagami was another story. By the time they had put up the lines, at least a dozen unripe apples dotted the ground.

Clipping on the small tea lights took only an hour and when they were done, Kuroko surveyed the scene with some self- satisfaction.

"Is your aunt good at decorating stuff or something?"

"She is a designer."

"Oh. Help me put the ladders back."

"Can you do it?"

"No. I had to go through that same extra training. I'm not doing any extra work."

Kuroko sighed and unceremoniously began dragging a ladder back to the barn. When they actually got there, there was a rather worrying situation.

The boy that was taunting Kuroko in the morning was perched on the roof of the barn, leaning over the edge as he tried to return a baby bird to its nest. Even Kuroko thought that that's a poor choice of real estate.

Takaya was down on the ground watching the scene with some other brainless relatives around his age.

"Careful, Yuki-kun!" he shouted. He faced his friends to laugh at the idealistic child behind his back. Kuroko felt his anger surge and he ran over and tightly gripped Takaya's shoulder.

"Takaya-san! We need to help," he said through gritted teeth. Takaya yells in disgust and flings Kuroko to the ground. Kagami felt his own fuse reach and end and he hurried over to help Kuroko up.

"Don't you dare treat him like that in front of me. He's right. We need to help the runt."

"What're you doing here?!"

"Yuki-kun, I am coming to help! Please be careful!"

"I don't need it!" Yuki yelled, right as he lost his balance and fell off the edge.

One hand clung to the roof for dear life while the other clutched the bird snugly. Kuroko's mind froze for an instant and he forgot what he was planning.

"Takaya-san, that bird is dead, am I not right?"

Takaya laughed.

"How'd you know?"

"Because you played the exact trick on me."

Takaya stopped mid-laugh and stared slack jaw as Kuroko pulled Kagami into the barn.

"A ladder! Find a long ladder!"

"You mean like this?"

He turned around and his face sagged in relief. The gleaming metal of the ladder reached the roof of the large barn. That meant it was still usable.

"I-I can't hold on for much longer!" Yuki wailed.

"Please hold on!" Kuroko screamed from inside the barn. "Trust me!"

A pause.

"Why should I?!"

Kuroko resisted the urge to kick the ladder as he lugged it out of the barn with Kagami.

"Man, he doesn't give up. It would be awesome if he could play basketball like that."

"Kagami!"

"Sorry."

"Yuki-kun! I have a ladder I'm going to put under you, alright?!"

"I'd rather fall than be saved by a jerk like you!"

Kuroko's blank expression cracked.

"For god's sake, do not be a fucking idiot and die here because of a person's stupid lies you damn idiot!" he roared.

Yuki obediently shut up and let Kuroko place the ladder under his feet. Kagami stared at Kuroko. Did Kuroko also have a clutch time like Hyuuga-senpai? Kuroko glared darkly at Kagami. Kagami gulped and lowered his gaze.

"What a freaking horrible day," Kagami muttered, "If it gets worse, I swear Kuroko is a bad luck charm."

"Ex-excuse me, Kuroko-nii?"

"Yes?" Kuroko asked amiably, his normal demeanor having returned.

"I'm af-afraid of heights."

Kuroko turned his gaze to Takaya. So that's why…

As he went to go up the ladder, he brushed past Kagami and whispered 'catch me' before climbing the rungs. As expected, Takaya and his lackeys gathered like ground ridden vultures around the base of the ladder. He climbed all the way to where Yuki was.

"Yuki-kun, I'm here."

"What was that about lies?"

"Takaya-san is lying to you."

"How do you know?"

"They played that dead bird trick on me as well."

"He said it was out cold."

"It is, in a way. Its corpse is out in the open and cold you could say."

"Oh. He told me you bullied him when he was younger."

"The opposite actually."

"Oh. I feel so stupid."

"You are."

"I can't say anything back to that."

"Please climb down and around me. I will move to the side of the ladder to give you space. I assure you that either I or Kagami will catch you."

Yuki sniffled.

"OK."

He slowly crawled his way down, and Kuroko let him go down first, since he was afraid he could pressure the boy and stress him out if he followed. The moment Yuki's feet touched the ground, Takaya threw his weight against the ladder and it toppled over.

Kuroko fell off, and Kagami darted forward. Amazingly, Kagami managed to safely catch Kuroko in his arms. They each shared expressions of shock, before Kagami's knees gave out and he dropped to the ground, still holding Kuroko.

"That… was a miracle," Kuroko muttered, pressing his face into Kagami.

**Chapter end! I don't know what happened near the end… **


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm back; don't worry! Not dead yet!**

Kuroko relaxed his body and Kagami let out a small yell.

"Jeez! Don't faint on me!"

"I did not," he answered tiredly, "just let me rest a bit."

He opened his eyes and saw Yuki running towards them. To his surprise, instead of looking scared or sad, Yuki seemed like he was ready to rip Takaya a new one.

"That bastard _used _me!" he screeched.

"Please, keep your language clean Yuki-kun."

"I don't care! He took advantage of me, and I was so stupid that he n-nearly killed you!"

His anger had begun to fade away and his eyes were beginning to turn wet. Kagami helped Kuroko up to his feet and Kuroko wiped away the start of tears from the corner of Yuki's eyes.

"I am fine. Calm down please. It is not becoming of a boy to cry," he said soothingly. Yuki sniffed and nodded.

"Much better."

"I'm sorry. I almost got Kuroko-nii hurt," he said miserably.

Kuroko smiled and pat the boy's head.

"I keep on telling you that I am fine."

Yuki nodded. He seemed to be contemplating something.

"That's it! Kuroko-nii is a really nice person, so Takaya-san can't treat him badly! I don't care if I'm tattling! I'm gonna go tell!"

Before Kuroko could even calm down Yuki, he ran off towards the field where the adults were helping to set up something.

"Ah, there is no point," he sighed.

"Kuroko?"

"Even if he tells, grandpa's word reigns supreme. Reya's relatives might object, but I doubt that Yuki-kun knows them well enough."

"If your grandpa hates you this much, why'd your aunt invite him?"

Kuroko looked at Kagami with just a hint of incredulity.

"He needs to walk my aunt down the aisle."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Kagami, the wedding is the day after tomorrow, alright. Tomorrow is simply for preparing clothes, hair, and such or to just relax in the area before the wedding. I will go over the schedule with you tonight."

"What are we going to do tomorrow then?"

"We can wander around."

"I guess. Maybe we can find a basketball court or something."

With plans for the night and tomorrow, they helped out with odds and ends, consoled Yuki and finally went back to the inn for dinner.

If Kagami's breakfast had raised any eyebrows, his dinner was causing jaws to drop. Kuroko didn't know whether Kagami was in a bad mood or anything, but he was eating even more than his usual after-practice quantity that Kuroko was familiar with.

"Oi, Kuroko! You need to eat more!"

Kuroko looked at his own plate, which was skimpy on meat and mainly vegetables. It was healthy, but probably not the best for building muscle. Even so, he didn't feel like eating more.

"I am fine."

"Seriously? You hardly eat anything, even after practice! You just get a vanilla shake!"

Kuroko's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over Kagami's mouth. By then though, it was too late. The words had been uttered.

"Tetsuya?"

Kuroko's face turned pallid despite his blank expression, and he turned to face his mom.

"Ah, mother, I know what you-"

"I told you to stop having so many vanilla shakes! Do you know how much sugar is in that shake? You're going to get diabetes and die young!" she lectured. A fierce tone crept into her voice.

It was the sound of pure rage.

Kuroko swallowed.

"Yes. I am sorry."

His father calmed down his mother with some light humor interwoven with implied pleas to spare Kuroko's life. Meanwhile, Kuroko looked into Kagami's eyes and glared. His slim fingers yanked on Kagami's necklace, forcing the larger boy down to Kuroko's height.

"You owe me a vanilla shake tomorrow," Kuroko whispered threateningly.

"What the hell?! Did you see your mom?! She's gonna pop a vein!"

"As long as you are quiet, I doubt there will be any incidents."

Kagami looked away with some guilt on his mind.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. One vanilla shake for our team's vanilla addict tomorrow."

"On your wallet."

"On my wallet," he added soberly.

Kuroko let go of Kagami's necklace, satisfied for the moment.

"Are we still going to look for a basketball court tomorrow though?"

"Of course."

Dinner came and went. Using the shower in their room was a bit slower than and not as relaxing as the baths, but it was too risky. Either way, the night was normal, and things had not escalated. Kuroko laid out his clothes for tomorrow and also pulled a small pile of papers from his bag.

"What's that?"

"The wedding schedule."

Kagami crawled over to where Kuroko was sitting, and took a seat.

"Alright then. First, we are going to go and simply get ourselves acquainted and find our seats. Then, there will be the usual people before the bride comes. Flower girls, etc. Then my aunt will walk down the aisle with my grandpa to where Reya-san is at the altar. From there are the usual vows, readings, and kiss. After that is the reception. We will now go through all the proper formalities and such. Auntie says something to welcome us, and then we go to the orchard and just have appetizers and introduce ourselves. Auntie and Reya-san will go around greeting people. Whatever happens Kagami, _do not accept the alcohol._"

Kagami had been listening quietly, but even he noticed this barb to his intelligence.

"I'm not stupid y'know."

"I am not teasing you. Some of the relatives are quite party animals. They might try to get you to have some."

"Avoid the crazy family members. Got it."

"Well, Auntie and Reya-san will have the first dance, then everyone else will join in I assume."

"I don't know how to dance, so I can't dance with you."

"Why would you even mention something like that?" Kuroko replied with an obvious twinge of pain in his voice.

"What? It's just that no one else will probably notice you."

"I will just assume that we are both wall-flowers then."

"Wall-flowers?"

"Flowers that cling to the walls. They are the people that do not really interact with others during social events. The people who 'cling to the walls.'"

"Oh."

"Then we all need to be seated. There will be toasts and speeches which are before dinner. After is cake, and then it is the special something that auntie mentioned."

"You sound scared."

"This is the bride who had condoms as wedding favors."

"Oh yeah."

They both sat there silently, mulling over the numerous possibilities that the bride-to-be had in store.

After a good few minutes of worry and fear, Kuroko called for lights out and they went to sleep. Even so, the two stayed awake for some time. After all, what strange, otherworldly ideas were inside the mind of Fumiko and Reya?

Kuroko and Kagami woke up the next morning feeling like absolute shit. Kagami's eyes were bloodshot. He looked like as if he had a game today instead of a relaxing day of rest. Kuroko simply sat up and felt each vertebra of his spine crack. He was sore after practice nights and when he woke up there were some creaky joints, but nothing ever like this. Stress and fear did not mix well it seemed. Kuroko looked at the clock and his expression turned matter-of-fact.

"It is eleven. The inn is no longer serving breakfast."

"What?!"

"We can eat brunch somewhere I hope."

They quickly washed and dressed before heading in the area. The place was a sort of tourist location, so it was well laid out for people to just explore and look around. It was also fairly pleasant to the eye and not completely rustic for where it was. First thing they did was go to a restaurant and get brunch. Kuroko was slightly disappointed that there were no vanilla shakes there, but after a few more minutes of walking a random coffee shop garnered his attention. He tugged on Kagami's sleeve.

"What?"

"Vanilla Frappuccino."

"Huh?"

Kuroko pointed to the coffee shop.

"Go and get me a vanilla Frappuccino."

"What happened to getting a shake?"

"Frappuccino's are not bad."

Kagami sighed and went into the shop with Kuroko into the shop. Kuroko sat down at a table and waited, while Kagami went up to the cashier to buy the drink. The cashier was a bit surprised at Kagami's order. She didn't expect someone as intimidating as Kagami to have a preference for something sweet.

"You like vanilla Frappuccinos?" she asked hesitantly.

Kagami groaned.

"No, I'm getting it for a f-friend."

"Friend? Weren't you alone?"

"No. He's sitting at that table by the door. If you're looking carefully enough, you'll see him."

The cashier glanced and didn't see a thing. Finally, she stared, and let out a gasp as she saw Kuroko.

"He was here the entire time?!"

"Er, yeah."

"O-oh."

She rang up the order and Kagami went to sit by Kuroko.

"Well, are you happy? You get your daily shot of vanilla you vanilla addict."

Kuroko nodded.

"Why does the cashier keep looking at us?"

"She didn't notice you until I pointed you out."

"I see. Do you really think there will be street courts here?"

"I dunno. Got to look around for them."

Kuroko took a small novel out of his bag and began from where he left off on the train. His bangs kept fluttering into his eyes and he kept brushing them out of the way. Kagami suddenly noticed, for some strange reason, that Kuroko was still extremely pale after all the practices they had had outside and including the work they just did yesterday.

"Don't you ever tan?"

Kuroko looked up from his book. He glanced at a pale hand and turned to Kagami.

"What do you mean?"

"You just stay super pale no matter what."

"I put on sunscreen."

"You do? No one on the team ever notices."

"Do you usually notice everything I do?"

"True."

The discussion turned idly to other mundane topics. They weren't talking about the most interesting things ever, but they were comfortable in each other's presence and enjoyed themselves.

The drink came and Kagami went to get it. As he walked back the cashier seemed to look at him oddly.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I just thought you two looked like a nice couple."

Kagami's mind went blank. It really did. It was as if someone had grabbed an eraser and wiped his head clean. For a few seconds, he was only capable of single-syllable replies.

"Huh?"

The cashier immediately realized her mistake and apologized profusely. Kagami said nothing and left her to her ramblings as he went back to the table and gave the drink.

"We should go then," Kuroko said.

Kagami nodded and the two of them left the café.

"Oh no! I scared them off!" the girl wailed.

Kagami kept his eyes out for any basketball courts as Kuroko sipped his drink. Eventually, he realized there weren't any so far.

"Does that stuff even taste good?"

"Yes."

Kuroko kept sipping his drink and Kagami kept his eyes peeled for any courts as they walked.

"Oh, can we stop here?"

Kuroko had stopped in front of a small drugstore.

"Huh? Why here?"

Kuroko pointed at his bangs.

"I just realized as I was reading. I think that I should get a clip for these."

"If it bothers you so much during reading, why not during basketball?"

"Mm… In basketball there are no little words to read."

Kagami let out an annoyed sigh.

"Dammit, you're like some needy little girl."

"That sounds more like Kise."

"Eh, true."

They went and bought the clip, but this time Kuroko asked if there were any street courts nearby. The cashier kindly told the two of them that there were some just ten minutes down the road. Even better was that the courts were used a lot. They could definitely find some people to play. Kagami smiled widely and bumped fists with Kuroko.

"C'mon! Let's go!" he yelled, dragging Kuroko away. Kuroko had barely anytime to hastily give a 'thank you' before being whisked away. He desperately drank down his vanilla Frappuccino and finished just in time as they arrived at the courts. What they saw was quite ugly though. Takaya and his little horde were brutally defeating another team there and wouldn't give back the people's basketball. Others tried their best to ignore the conflict, but some were actively yelling at Takaya. He ignored them and continued gloating.

"Oh! If it isn't the thing! Why are you here?"

"Kagami and I wanted to play some basketball. We do not like you here bothering people."

"My bad! I forgot that the thing plays basketball on his team! You're so weak that I bet you're useless. How did you even become a regular in the first place?"

Kagami's temper flared and he restrained himself.

"Shut up you asshole," he said, his voice dangerously quiet.

"Hey, look, the thing's friend is saying something."

"You don't know a thing about how Kuroko plays."

It was one thing to assault Kuroko, but if you insulted Kuroko's playing style, the whole team took it personally. After all, Seirin was team based, and to insult a part of the team was to insult the whole.

"Really?" Takaya sneered. "Why don't I go on a one-on-one with you? To see who's better? Kuroko is useless anyway."

"No. Do a two-on-two. Kuroko's playing with me."

"Fine."

Kuroko sighed and dropped his bag and put his empty cup on the ground.

"Why must you go deciding things without asking me?"

"Should I say sorry?"

"No. This will be fun."

The match started, and Kagami promptly slammed the ball from Takaya's hands. He dribbled around Takaya and his friend to pull off a psychologically jarring dunk. Kuroko had vanished and afterwards seemed to only appear to steal the ball from them and pass to Kagami. Only a few minutes in it was clear who the winners were. Takaya bit his lip and snarled. He wanted to bring in more players to go against the two, but he knew that would only make him seem petty. Either way, his pride was going to take a blow. It was time to minimize damage now, nothing else.

He called the other over.

"We're out!" he yelled as he stormed out.

"Hey! Takaya-san!"

The young man turned around sharply.

"What?"

"You know Kuroko was in the Generation of Miracles, right?" Kagami rubbed in gleefully.

The name was widespread and even if you had never faced off against the schools personally, the title had a sort of mythical power looming over it. It practically oozed off the feeling that you shouldn't mess with them.

Takaya's face contorted into some grotesque expression, and this time he left the courts for good. Kagami lifted up a fist and Kuroko returned the gesture with a fist bump. They did this among the cheers and hollers from the other players in the courts.

Today was a good day.

**OK! End of this chapter! I have no idea if there is such thing as a two-on-two… Sorry if the term's made up.**


	8. How to Control Crowds

**Well, first things first. **

"**goes and bangs head into a wall"**

**I'm so sorry about the last chapter! I should've known when I went too far! I'm so sorry! I apologize to everyone (and to some people again) for the subtext in that last chapter! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm really really sorry! I'll be sure to keep better track of what I write in later chapters!**

**I'm gonna be **_**really, really **_**busy for a while, so please forgive me. I just realized all the flaws in my writing as well. "sighs"**

**(By busy, I mean "slowly breaking under the requirements of a major turning point in life". Expect chapters to increase slowly around the end of November.)**

The day of the wedding had approached and now Kuroko and Kagami had a good four hours to kill. Kuroko was busy checking over his suit for anything that might need some last minute repair, and Kagami more or less said that Kuroko was being too paranoid.

"Kagami should check his suit as well."

Knowing full well that Kuroko probably wouldn't just let him brush it off, he groaned and got up to drag his suit out of the closet. After a minute or two of inspection, Kagami noticed something strange.

"Hey, Kuroko? The cuffs here don't have any buttons. Only holes. You think something happened?"

Kuroko immediately had a sinking feeling as he had an inkling of what Kagami might have done, but he hoped he was wrong.

"Did you bring cufflinks?"

"Cufflinks? What're th-!" Kagami let out a rather unmanly shriek as a clothes hanger whistled through the air by his head, spinning in a large arc. He sucked in a breath as he saw the hanger chip out a bit of the wall. For a moment, he was extremely afraid of the boy standing in front of him. Luckily for Kagami, Kuroko managed to calm himself down relatively fast. He began wondering what he could do for Kagami, when all of sudden, a bout of apathy hit him.

He sat down in a chair by the window and lolled his head lazily towards the landscape. For some reason, he just didn't feel like doing anything. When was the last time he felt like this? Moments like these should be treasured by someone as serious as himself.

"Kagami can just go and ask the other guests if they have any extra cufflinks."

"You're not going to help me?"

Kuroko responded by humming nonchalantly and looking away. Kagami swore and ran out of the room. After a few minutes passed by in blissful peace, the humid air and hot sun outside became rather stifling and warm to Kuroko, and he dozed off. He vaguely dreamed of people dressed in black running across a stage, first following Aomine dressed in chainmail, then deserting Aomine to run after Kagami who was in plate armor. The two dueled for a bit, with the people in black helping each actor switch between weapons that for some reason eventually turned into Voids?

Kuroko woke up when a weapon from each of them slapped him in the face and he woke up groaning. He was definitely reading too many fantasy novels nowadays.

"Oi! Kuroko! Wake up!"

Kagami was already in his suit. A steel cufflink gleamed on each of his wrists. So he had found some.

"What happened?"

"You aunt says something bad just happened and you need to come down, _now_; all dressed."

The night sky outside jolted him to his senses and within minutes he was in his suit and sprinting down the stairs with Kagami. They hopped into a relative's car and arrived on scene before Reya came charging out at them both.

"The ring-bearer can't come on time," he gasped, "so Fumiko wants you to be it instead."

Kuroko just stared at Reya. Kagami had never seen this kind of blank out in Kuroko. He waved a hand in front of Kuroko's face and jumped as Kuroko bat it away.

"You do know that some people will be absolutely furious? Do not forget grandpa."

"Screw that!" Reya blurted. Kuroko was surprised at the burst of emotion from Reya. The man reached forward and grabbed Kuroko by the shoulders.

"If my fiancé wants her nephew to be the ring-bearer, then dammit all-that nephew is going to be the ring-bearer! You're an amazing kid from what I've heard from Fumiko and I fully plan on spoiling you once I'm your uncle. I will not let this _stupid, ax-crazy_ family treat you like trash! If you're not the ring-bearer, Fumiko's going to be sad and this is her _fucking wedding. _Get your priorities straight!"

Kuroko and Kagami had no idea how to respond. Eventually, Kuroko weakly mumbled something along the lines of 'yes', which was followed by a chokehold of hug by Reya.

_He's like Hyuuga-senpai in clutch mode_, Kuroko thought warily.

Reya ran him over the entire schedule. He was going to go up the aisle last, right before Fumiko, and wait to the side with the others. After the pastor announced for the rings to be brought, then Kuroko would do so. Simple enough.

He stared in shock however as Reya pressed two bands of gold into his palms.

"Maybe Reya-san should give them to me right before the wedding, or maybe fake rings- these are expensive!"

Reya ignored Kuroko's last attempt to slide his way out of his new role in the wedding. Eventually, Reya left them both, and Kuroko stood there silently with two rings in his hands.

"K-Kagami…"

He had never heard Kuroko's voice falter so fearfully like that before. He sighed and grabbed Kuroko's head, forcing it down.

"You always overthink things! It's not that hard is it? And if your family tries to mess with you, we'll scare them off, alright?"

"Yes…"

Kagami noticed that shred of doubt still there on his teammate's face.

"For god's sake; this isn't like you at all."

"The wedding… is only thirty minutes away. And I must carry the rings symbolizing their eternal bond to the altar."

"Eh, Kuroko? You alright?"

"I need some time alone."

"…Okay then. I'll see you at the ceremony then."

He reluctantly stayed still as he watched Kuroko wander off. The worry in him increased as he saw Kuroko nearly run into a tree. How was he going to explain to the team that its Phantom Player had died during a wedding running into things?

Kuroko walked and walked until he was somewhere on the farm that he didn't recognize. He checked his watch. There were only twenty minutes left until the ceremony. He needed to hurry over. After another ten minutes of walking, he was finally near the orchard. He really needed to run over to the ceremony now. He hoped he wouldn't look too disgruntled or out of breath when he got there. He would have to enjoy himself later when they ate in the orchard. The glimmering candles on the tables that made the flower petals and hairpins on the table sparkle also lit up the entire area like small suns strung on lines. The light was beautifully warm and welcoming.

The entire little plan all got shot to hell when he saw Takaya and a few other burly relatives approaching. He tried to run, but screamed in a desperate bid to attract attention. To his intense distaste, a rough hand covered his mouth and muffled any sound coming from his mouth. Before he knew it, he was ferried over to the barn and the door was locked shut. For a while, Kuroko stood there, silent. Then he started planning his escape.

Kagami knew something was wrong when Takaya appeared with his posse looking extremely self-satisfied and confident. For one, Kuroko wasn't here at the ceremony. He found that hard to believe. What he _could_ believe, was that Takaya had stowed Kuroko away somewhere. He contemplating punching in Takaya's face again, but he clenched his fists, took deep breaths, and for once, thought through and realized that beating up people at a wedding was not the best thing to do. Right now, he needed to find Kuroko. Already, the entire procession had gone on and now everyone was just waiting for the ring-bearer. Takaya began shifting uncomfortably in his chair and Kagami realized that the freak didn't know that Kuroko had been reassigned as ring-bearer. Technically, he had more or less ruined the wedding by locking away Kuroko.

"You have two choices," Kagami mumbled under his breath, "tell us where Kuroko is and look like an idiot, or keep quiet and ruin the wedding just to save your own skin."

Unsurprisingly, Takaya chose the latter. Before Kagami could even leave his seat to look for his friend, Kuroko's mother stood up, marched over to Takaya, and backhanded him.

"Where is my son?!"

Takaya stared at the woman. There was a collective gasp of air from the whole audience.

"Why would you even care about that thing?!

His question received only another slap in answer.

"For the last time, where is my son?"

"… In the barn."

The voice was tinged with defeat and utter bewilderment, as all that he had perceived about his relative was shattered.

"Thank you. Kagami-kun, will you come help?"

"Y-yes!"

An old man that Kagami assumed was Kuroko's grandfather left his chair to stand in front of them.

"Apologize to Takaya."

She gazed at her father with pity and hate.

"I will not. Tetsuya is your grandson, and you treated him like trash. If you will treat family that way, than I have no obligation to be kind to them as well. I've subjected to your whims for far too long, and have let Tetsuya get hurt in the process. I will not be a coward anymore."

"You won't be alone," Kuroko's stepfather announced and stood by his wife.

"Ah, mother, father, what are you doing? Grandpa, stop scaring everyone. Takaya, it's not nice to joke about people being locked in barns."

Kagami snapped around his head so fast that he felt a stab of pain run up his neck. Kuroko was standing right at the front of the aisle, his clothes slightly disheveled but otherwise unharmed.

"Um, Kuroko, I don't think you can talk your way out of this."

"It was worth a shot. Everyone, please sit down and if you can, try to ignore everything that just happened. This includes my own family. We are here to celebrate a wedding, not gawk at some minor family drama."

_Minor?! _Kagami thought incredulously, _Your mother slapped Takaya twice in front of all the guests! And do you seriously think we're all going to just ignore this?!_

"Um… We're not idiots, y'know," a heavily makeup-ed girl said scathingly to Kuroko.

"And how does that affect what I just said?"

She shut up. Kuroko seemed to have steel in his voice. His presence was extremely low, but Kagami couldn't help but think right now that those faint traces had been enhanced as much as possible.

"I want this wedding to continue peacefully, and for everyone to enjoy themselves. If you have any concerns, deal with them _afterward_."

Amazingly, everybody did exactly that. The rest of the ceremony passed without a hitch, and Kagami was staring at everything all wide-eyed and surprised.

"How'd you do that?" he whispered as they were in their seats.

"You mean telling everyone to ignore all that happened? Nothing. People don't want to be involved in things that are detrimental to them, and being caught in a family spat is detrimental I would say. All you have to do is give them a little push."

Kagami looked at Kuroko with a barely tolerant expression.

"I'm surprised you still even have faith in humanity."

"That is what basketball is for, right?"

He mulled over the words a bit, than gave a rather unhappy look.

"True enough."

Those words had been enough to be his mind at peace, but he felt that Kuroko led a very sober state of living every single day. Basketball was probably the only thing in his life that actually made him feel alive and not a zombie.

A thought began nagging at him.

"How'd you get out of the barn?"

"Ah, that…"

-o-o-o-

Apparently, Kuroko had scrounged around the barn and found a rope ladder. He used one of the large ladders already there to climb to a roof top window, and then carefully dragged up the rope ladder to fling out the window. He climbed down the rope ladder and was out. Luckily the rings hadn't been taken.

-o-o-o-

"That sounds so boring."

"It worked."

**Chapter complete!**

**I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to continue the story on without everything blowing up in my face.**


	9. Fin

**Sorry that the updates are so sporadic… Actually, just sorry about being a douche and making everyone wait so long. Life has made me busy, depressed, and unmotivated **

**Also, I'm not exactly an expert on explosives and the permits you need.**

**This might be the last chapter of the main story and then I have a little side story planned. Remember Riko and the rest of Seirin?**

Kuroko listened to the beautiful music and watched in awe as Fumiko and Reya danced elegantly over the dirt ground. It seemed as if they were gliding on ice rather than on hard packed soil. Her skirts barely dusted the ground as Reya spun her around. The light that bounced off the sequins on her dress dazzled the audience. The gold bands on their fingers flashed proudly under the candlelight. Dips and turns all being flung within the ring of people that surrounded the two. To Kagami, it seemed as if Kuroko was being hypnotized by the scattering light and swirling motions.

"Oi! Snap out of it."

"Snap out of what?"

"You're just staring."

"Auntie looks really happy."

Kagami frowned. He looked at the newlyweds and realized what Kuroko meant.

"Heh, you're right."

Soon, others began to join in on the dancing. Kuroko was whisked away by a petite girl with glasses, while Kagami awkwardly accepted one girl's blunt request to dance. He was quite glad that her pumps had such stiff toes. That way it wouldn't hurt as much when he stepped on her feet. She didn't seem to mind though. She told him that her dancing was considered quite atrocious to some. Kagami began to relax, and soon, he began to enjoy himself as well. A few murmurs startled them and they moved to the side to see Kuroko effortlessly dancing with his partner. Kagami paid a bit more attention and chuckled.

"What is it?"

"He's not the one leading at all. It's the girl that's cuing him."

She watched for a bit longer and made a small utterance of surprise.

"Oh, you're right! Hmm, you're his friend, right?"

"W-Wha?"

"You're not?"

"No, I am…"

"Well, you probably know him pretty well if you could tell almost immediately from the way he was moving that he wasn't leading."

Kagami awkwardly scratched his head.

"I guess. Let's, keep dancing?"

"Sure."

The usual formalities passed and the condoms were discreetly mentioned and Kagami nearly cleaned out the buffet. The children and a large amount of the guests blew bubbles everywhere until the area seemed to have the diaphanous orbs bobbing about constantly, and pleasant chatter filled rest of the empty space. Then, Kuroko realized what his gut had been telling him the whole time.

"We have fireworks prepared and an area to shoot them! Let's go!"

Fumiko gleefully laughed as she dragged along Reya who had a candle lighter with him.

"You were right," Kagami said faintly as he ran after the two. Kuroko didn't respond as he sprinted along.

-o-o-o-

Fumiko kicked off her heels and put on some flats, then, holding the lighter with Reya, set the wick on rocket aflame. The loving look in their eyes never faded, even as they laughed wildly and sprinted away from the impending explosion.

Kuroko watched with a hopeless silence and Kagami also stared in shock as the sky burst into a color gradient of stars. Each rocket created more lights that washed the area in colorful hues and Kuroko finally began to realize that they had taken precautions such as the plastic garbage bin of water and the fact that the area was quite green despite the dry weather. It was only after the fifth explosion that Kuroko was convinced that everyone wasn't going to get burned to death and he cheered on the couple with Kagami. After the seventh one, the other guests- particularly the younger ones- had gotten over the initial shock and screamed with joy.

"This is, amazing."

Kuroko nodded.

"Yes, it is."

He watched the scene unfold and tried his hardest to commit it memory. This entire scene-all the insanity and festivity—he wanted it to always be there for him. Kagami noticed Kuroko's eyes seeming to stare vacantly away, and stayed silent. Kuroko was probably thinking about something.

After the whole thing was cleaned up, everyone retreated back to the dining area. During the time they were gone, someone had rolled out a beautiful cake that was dotted with roses, narcissuses, and cherry blossoms of fondant. A bouquet was also conspicuously placed on a table that had been cleared and smothered with potpourri. Everyone could smell the fragrant herbs and flowers from a few feet away. Everyone helped themselves to the cake and happily indulged. Kuroko tried it warily, but the moderately sweet vanilla won him over. People who had wanted to bring some of the cake back home were sorely disappointed when Kagami finished the rest of it. A few unruly drunks milled about, offering champagne to whomever they saw, but Kagami wisely followed Kuroko's advice and darted away from the alcoholics.

"Everyone! Heads up!" Fumiko called, waving the wedding bouquet about. The people cheered as she flung the bouquet through the air. Kuroko raised his arm to try and catch it, but it glanced off his hand and smacked straight into Kagami's face. He yelled and dropped his plate to catch the flowers, choking a few of the silk petals that had dislodged.

However, he missed as well, and the bouquet fell elegantly into Kuroko's open hands.

"I caught it."

He said it without much emotion, to many peoples' annoyance. Kagami spit out the last fake flower.

"Dude! That's the freaking bouquet!"

"I realize that. I don't believe any of the superstitions surrounding it though."

"It's still considered important though," he added.

"Kagami. If you are trying to convince me of something, you are failing. Miserably."

And so the wedding ended.

Kuroko was showered with hugs and kisses from Fumiko and Reya gave Kuroko an awkward hug before the rest of them boarded the train. As he sat, listening to all of the lively conversation between his parents and Kagami, the bouquet of artificial flowers lay on his lap. He brought it up to his nose, and if he tried hard enough, he could smell the potpourri and cake and faint traces of apples.

He leaned against the window and laughed happily, much to Kagami's shock.

**WOOHOO! THAT'S IT FOR THE MAIN STORY!**

**I promise there's one last little thing left.**


	10. Extra

**Well, last thing for this fanfic.**

Riko couldn't have been more ecstatic when school was shut down for a week with the gym virtually untouched. Educational radicals may be a nightmare to the school districts, but let them deal with that. Her sole goal for now is to turn the Seirin basketball team into something amazing. She walks up to the doors and unlocks it with her key.

Well, she _tries _to unlock it. For some reason, she can't use the key. She kneels down to peek at the keyhole and sees that it's plugged up with some kind of tar. She stares for a moment at the lock. She can't get inside the gym. It feels like her stomach has plunged a foot down into her gut. This broken lock is more than just restricted access to the gym; it is a meteor shower raining down upon her intricately crafted plan and rendering it to ashes. The calm that comes before the panic wraps about her mind numbly before all hell breaks loose.

"WHAAT?! What am I gonna do?! Crap! Who the hell did this?!"

She drops to her knees. A curious little thing draws her attention though. From the new angle, things glimmer in the morning sun by the sides of the gym. The windows have been smashed in.

A sinking feeling in her gut just won't stop. She shakily pulls herself up and circles the gym. Every single window has been smashed in and all the locks have been taken care of. The windows are punched _in_ as well, so the gym is too dangerous to even use right now. The worst is yet to come. At the very back, in red spray paint is a message.

P.E. FORCES PHYSICAL IDEALS ONTO CHILDREN AND CAUSES ALIENATION, TO THE END OF ALL RANK BASED EDUCATION!

Riko clenches her fists and her teeth are grinding incessantly.

"What kind of bullshit it that?! I NEED THE GYM FOR PRACTICE YOU CREEPS!"

-0-0-0-

Hyuuga listens to Riko rant on and on. This is a troubling turn of events. He wasn't looking forward to the unexpected death camp, but the fact that the gym was targeted means it'll possibly interfere with normal practices in the long run.

A few days later Kagami and Kuroko return and learn everything that has happened. Kagami is quick to show his anger, while Kuroko implies it through quiet words. The Week of Death does not come to pass, and the schools adapt by sending the students to other campuses or cram schools. P.E. and team practices take place in parks or outdoor courts. For now, the current P.E. curriculum is basketball as well, so Riko begins bringing lock cutters to practice on a hunch.

Everyone is especially wary of her charming smiles and are quick to obey her orders, since the bolt cutters look a lot like trimming shears that have smaller blades.

It's the third week in when she finds the gates wrapped in chains and padlocks and combination locks of differing sizes. She simply puts those muscles to use and begins cutting every sing lock off.

"H-hey? Coach? What's with all that metal?" Koganei asks warily.

"Someone tried to interfere with practice today! The idiots didn't know that we started track exercises a few days ago!"

She laughs like a maniac and the team hopes that whoever those edu-terrorists are that they'll stop targeting the outdoor courts they need for practice.

They don't. They're acting like they've got a grudge on basketball. At one point, Riko starts bringing a rope ladder to practice. However, they finally cross the line.

Everything seems eerily fine until Kagami's about to pull off a trademark dunk of his. He suddenly yells and lands heavily on the ground on his butt. His hands are bleeding heavily. Kuroko runs over, takes a look at Kagami's cut hands, then glances at the hoop. Wrapped about the ring of metal is a single line of barbed wire. The orange paint chipped off ages ago, so the dull metal blends in perfectly.

"We need to wrap your hands," he says. He helps Kagami up by the wrists and by then everyone is crowding them, asking Kagami what happened.

"Coach, the basketball hoop has barbed wire on it."

She gasps and decides to end practice early for today. As Kuroko helps Kagami with his hands, Riko announces her plans at the same time.

"We're going to catch these bastards," she growls.

-0-0-0-

They begin a laborious process of hiding out by the courts every night. They have to tell the police that no, they're not hoodlums, and they're not planning on doing drugs either. Finally, after three nights, their efforts are awarded. A group of college age students appear and begin unrolling a tarp of some sort inside the court.

"NOW!" Riko screams. Kuroko, who has been hiding in plain sight slides the gate shut and locks it closed. The people inside freak out and run to the fences, trying to climb out. The other team members take their positions on each side of the court.

"We did it-!" RIko exclaims before a man grabs her in a loose headlock with what looks like mace aimed at the eyes.

"Tell your buddies to back off or I'm using this!"

The other members look at them, and make no discernible move.

"Wha-? Don't you all care about this chick?!"

He can't say much after she discreetly pulls out a crowbar from under her jacket and slams it into his kneecap. He howls and drops to the ground where she rewards him with a kick to the groin. Repeatedly.

The police are notified after a minute or two more for the safety of the man rather than Riko. The edu-terrorists are also apprehended.

**And that's the end!**


End file.
